KAMPALA, March 03, 2015— Uganda's urban population will increase from six million in 2013 to over 20 million in 2040. Policy makers need to act now to ensure that this rapid urbanization is managed well,... Show More + so it can contribute to Uganda’s sustainable and inclusive growth, a report released today by the World Bank Group shows.For the first time, the report compares data on urban areas and their populations in a consistent manner across Uganda, providing governments and local leaders with analyses to improve planning and coordination to deliver better services, jobs and opportunities, making cities more competitive.“The typical Ugandan city has grown rapidly, but without sufficient policy coordination. As a result, urbanization has not necessarily resulted in increased productivity, with the majority of jobs created involving low productivity activities,” said Hon. Daudi Migereko, Minister of Lands, and Housing and Urban Development. “This report will help government get a better picture a Show Less -

ACCRA, March 3, 2015 – Twenty Ghanaian high-potential startups have concluded the first national bootcamp designed to promote local entrepreneurship and innovation in clean technologies. The initiative... Show More + was organized last week by the soon-to-be-launched World Bank/infoDev’s Ghana Climate Innovation Center (GCIC). The bootcamp aimed to identify and launch growth-oriented Ghanaian entrepreneurs and new ventures involved in developing profitable and locally relevant solutions to climate change.Several studies, including the World Bank’s report ‘Economics of Adaption to Climate Change’ and Ghana's National Climate Change Policy Framework, have stressed how significant the impact of climate change will be on Ghana’s economy, people and development. Crop yields are predicted to decline by 7% by 2050 due to higher temperatures, while sea levels are expected to rise over one meter this century, causing the erosion of 1,120 square kilometers of land.“Ghana is highly vulnerable to the impacts of Show Less -

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2015—The World Bank Group today announced the creation of its first External Advisory Panel for Diversity and Inclusion, which will provide a conduit between the World Bank Group and... Show More + the global community, serve as a sounding board, and advise on matters relating to diversity and inclusion.While conducting a study of the diversity and inclusiveness of the World Bank Group’s workforce, an organizational review of external best practices found that the institution should explore new ways to become more diverse and could benefit from an outside perspective. The World Bank Group, in selecting members of an External Advisory Panel, sought leaders who had demonstrated success in both diversity and inclusion in the workplace.The External Advisory Panel will review and advise President Jim Yong Kim and his senior management team on the organization’s strategies and measures to achieve a diverse and inclusive workplace. They will also give counsel on how to address internal Show Less -

Today, on World Wildlife Day, the World Bank is partnering with ICWICC to “get serious about wildlife crime.” We asked experts at World Wildlife Fund and the World Bank to explain the link between wildlife... Show More + crime and lack of economic opportunity. Some of the answers are collected below. World Bank experts Valerie Hickey and Bill Magrath also penned a blog about why poaching is not a “poverty problem.”Question 1: What is the connection between wildlife crime and lack of economic opportunity?Rob Steinmetz, Conservation Biologist, WWF Thailand -- “As a general observation, regardless of economic status or opportunities, most people actually do not poach. Around protected areas in this region, 99% of people could probably be classified as "impoverished". Yet 99% of people do not poach. If economic opportunity were the main driver of poaching, then wildlife would have been eradicated a very long time ago. The link between economic opportunity and poaching is more complex Show Less -

When it comes to improving road safety, working in partnership can go a long way. This is the case of the on-going collaboration between the World Bank and Bloomberg Philanthropies on increasing road safety... Show More + in developing countries.Over the past four years both organizations, along with governments and other partners, have focused efforts on strengthening legislation, providing training on advocacy, post-crash care, enforcement, and improving road infrastructure. This joint work has led to some initial and important results, particularly on strengthening legislation and enforcement to effect behavior change.In Hyderabad, India, for example, there was a 75 percent reduction in drunk driving from 2011 to 2013. In Dalian, China, speeding was reduced by 80 percent over the period 2011-13. And helmet use improved by 100 percent in Ha Nam, Vietnam, over the same period.All these are examples of effective collaboration on the ground between global partners, local governments and communit Show Less -

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,I am pleased to affirm the unwavering commitment by the World Bank Group to help Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone end the Ebola epidemic and... Show More + rebound from this crisis.The World Bank Group has made a major contribution to the global Ebola response, working closely with the governments in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone and with our bilateral and multilateral development partners, civil society, and the private sector. To date, the World Bank Group has mobilized more than US $1 billion for the affected countries to combat Ebola and its impacts. This includes US $518 million in unprecedented emergency response funding from IDA, the WBG’s fund for the poorest countries, which is mostly all in the form of grants, and has been supporting the affected countries and UN agencies to provide Ebola treatment and care, contain and prevent the spread of infections, deploy domestic and foreign health workers, conduct safe buri Show Less -

4. It is Brazil’s fourth poorest stateOffering better public services is even more important when one considers that nearly 17% of the state’s... Show More + 3.6 million people live below the poverty line. Furthermore, 7.1 percent are classified as extremely poor. Manaus, in turn, is home to one-fourth of the extremely poor residents and 48 percent of the vulnerable population.5. Amazonas will use technology and infrastructure to improve the lives of its poorest citizensIn order to compensate for the isolation of its municipalities, in 2011 Amazonas established a geo-referencing office to map the territory and identify localities where the need for new schools and hospitals, for example, is greatest. In the past three years, the state has been using that same technology to improve public safety in the neighborhoods of Manaus: the police can access the map using their cell phones; when someon Show Less -

Washington, March 2, 2015 – The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US$200 million loan to support Morocco’s competitiveness strategy and encourage reforms for productivity and growth. The Development... Show More + Policy Loan (DPL) reform program addresses needs critical for simplifying procedures for business and enforcing rules for competition to create a more enabling and transparent business environment. These reforms are expected to energize investment and trade, and help create high-value jobs and a more vibrant private sector in Morocco.Over the past decade, Morocco has carried out a series of reforms to update its regulatory framework and attract more foreign investment. The reforms have made a significant impact on Morocco’s business environment. By modernizing its commercial framework, and easing regulatory procedures over the past few years, Morocco has made a significant leap in the 2015 edition of Doing Business, ranking 71 out of 189 economies, compared to 94th in 2012.“Mor Show Less -

IBRD Loan: US $40.0 million Terms: Maturity = 15 years, Grace = 5 yearsProject ID: P147705Project Description: The objective of the project is to enhance the competitiveness and management capacity... Show More + of small and medium sized enterprises in Kazakhstan. For more information, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P147705?lang=en Show Less -

Although homicide rates have been falling around the world since 2000, in 2012 alone, 475,000 people were murdered, most of whom were men between the ages of 15 and 29. Most of these victims were killed... Show More + by firearms.This statistic is included in the “Global Status Report on Violence Prevention 2014,” prepared by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), using data from 133 countries.The WHO considers interpersonal violence (when an individual intentionally harms another) as a public health problem. This is a worldwide phenomenon that can have severe long-term consequences.According to the report, one of every four children has been a victim of physical abuse (the figure increases to three of every four if other types of abuse are included). One of every three women has been physically or sexually attacked by her partner. Additionally, one of every 17 senior citizens reported having suffered abuse in th Show Less -

De Walque also compared and contrasted the lessons of this epidemic with the recent outbreak of Ebola, and emphasized the need for governments to effectively communicate information and reduce public fear... Show More + that leads to aversion behavior and exacerbates economic costs.Discussant Marelize Gorgens, HIV Trust Fund Program Manager, spoke about the “continual challenge of taking research findings and applying them to policies.” She identified four key areas for continued efforts: Improving the translation of the policy implications of research to governments; better analysis of the cost effectiveness of policies that have multiple benefits, for example, increased education and lower HIV transmission rates; incentives that can promote uptake of biomedical interventions, for example male circumcision; and an increased reliance on biomedical data rather than self-reported sexual or intervention-uptake behavior, which can be unreliable. Show Less -

WASHINGTON, DC, March 02, 2015 – The World Bank today approved a $500 million loan for the MSME Growth Innovation and Inclusive Finance Project to improve access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium... Show More + Enterprises (MSMEs) working in the manufacturing and services sector, including startups and early stage ventures.In India, MSMEs account for more than 80 percent of total industrial enterprises, produce over 8000 value-added products and employ an estimated 60 million people. It contributes around 45 per cent to manufacturing output and about 40 percent to exports, both directly and indirectly. In addition, over 50 percent of MSMEs are rural enterprises and widely distributed across low-income states making them an important sector for promoting economic growth and poverty reduction.However, lack of adequate finance is one of the biggest challenges facing the MSME sector. Financial institutions have limited their exposure to the sector due to a higher risk perception, information asymmet Show Less -

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2015 —The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$40 million loan to help enhance the competitiveness and management capacity of small and medium sized... Show More + enterprises (SMEs) in Kazakhstan.“Small and medium sized enterprises are widely identified as important sources of economic growth and employment and, therefore, an essential foundation for shared prosperity,” said Ludmilla Butenko, World Bank Country Manager for Kazakhstan. “The project is expected to increase the competitiveness of Kazakhstani SMEs to contribute to diversification of the economy by reducing its reliance on extractive industries.”Lack of professional and management skills as well as limited market linkages are among key obstacles the Kazakhstan’s private sector is facing today. The SME Competitiveness Project is aimed at strengthening the management capacity of SMEs to grow and create more and better jobs. For this, the existing SME advisory programs will be enhanced in Show Less -